1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flotation device, and more particularly to a floating aluminum box that is reinforced on the inside and that can be thrown in the water in order to prevent a dock worker who falls in the water from getting crushed between two barges.
2. Description of the Related Art
Longshoremen, stevedores, sailors, dockyard workers and other personnel involved in the loading and unloading of cargo from marine vessels face considerable safety hazards. One of these hazards is that a person may fall into the water. Shipboard policy and oftentimes U.S. Coast Guard regulations dictate that a dock worker is required to wear a life jacket when working on deck. In addition, most ships, tug boats, and barges are equipped with life rings, fast rescue craft and other life saving devices, such as boat hooks, to retrieve a man who has fallen overboard.
Men and women who work in the loading and unloading of barges face an additional peril besides drowning if they fall in the water in a port servicing barges, such as being crushed by the barge as the barge is swayed out or in. A man overboard runs the risk of being crushed between two barges or being pinned between a barge and the quay. There is a need for a device that can be quickly thrown in the water in the vicinity of a man overboard and that will keep two barges apart while the man is pulled out of the water. A variety of flotation devices have been proposed for different purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,774, issued Aug. 14, 2001 to Todd Robert Warzecha, shows an aquatic flotation device with easy mount and dismount. The flotation device is designed with two buoyant floats and a platform suspended between them. The platform rests below the surface of the water and allows an animal to easily mount the platform. U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,797, issued Mar. 13, 2001 to Michael G. Brown, teaches an aircraft float and system utilizing the same. The aircraft float is constructed of polyethylene but utilizes an internal box-like structure made of aluminum.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,911, issued May 21, 1985 to Wayne F. Seefeld, describes a flotation device. The flotation device utilizes two parallel pontoons fastened to a deck panel. The pontoons are of a substantially rectangular shape but are not reinforced with any inside support members.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/0022417, published Feb. 21, 2002, (novel life-saving device); U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,312, issued Jan. 15, 1974 to Gordon L. Schneider (modular floating structure); U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,144, issued Aug. 15, 1978 to Bernard T. Chabot (sea rescue chamber and methods of constructing and utilizing same); U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,165, issued Mar. 6, 1984 to James E. Johnson (flotation device for supporting a person in water); U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,663, issued Sep. 3, 1985 to Robert Looker (cargo container); U.S. Pat. No. 4,926,781, issued May 22, 1990 to Martin G. Bauer (portable personal floatation device); U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,522, issued Oct. 22, 1991 to Martin G. Bauer (portable personal floatation device); U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,196, issued Mar. 1, 1994 to Brian V. Steel (inflatable float device); U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,264, issued Dec. 29, 1998 to Ronald Treveloni (bridge, dock and pier shoring-up bulk-delivery floating conveyor unit); U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,218, issued Nov. 14, 2000 to Robert D. White (universal platform for human powered floatation devices); U.S. Pat. No. 6,234,098 B1, issued May 22, 2001 to Baron R. Biedenweg et al. (extended width side rail for pontoon boat); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,134 B1, issued Jul. 2, 2002 to Michael Wahl et al. (life-saving device) disclose other flotation devices.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a floating aluminum box to protect dockworkers solving the aforementioned problems is desired.